Bosch Presented New Accelerometer Sensor for Hearables

Bosch Presented New Accelerometer Sensor for Hearables
Bosch

Bosch Sensortec announced a new variant of its high-performance BMA456. It is the industry’s only accelerometer with optimized hearable features integrated in one sensor and complements the existing BMA456 wearable variant.

Manufacturers can now design smaller and more accurate hearables with lower power consumption while increasing their performance. Hearables include devices such as standard or sports earbuds, hearing aids or high-end hearables like gaming headsets.

"Bosch Sensortec's many years of experience in the areas of signal processing and ultra-low power MEMS sensor design are key to helping manufacturers create the next generation of hearables," said Stefan Finkbeiner, CEO of Bosch Sensortec. "The new BMA456 is a great example of how Bosch leverages its experience and know-how, adapting proven wearable technologies for the developing hearables market.

The new BMA456 accelerometer variant integrates hearable-specific gestures for intuitive user interactions such as tap, double-tap and triple-tap. Its extremely low height of 0.65 mm makes the sensor a perfect fit for Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) headsets and midrange hearables used for entertainment and in everyday life.

Another feature is power management. To limit power consumption, the BMA456 accelerometer accurately distinguishes between motion and no-motion, switching itself and the device to a low-power mode. In addition, the sensor enables low-power in-ear and out-of-ear recognition that could instantly pause playback when the user removes the hearable from their ear and set the entire system to sleep mode.

It also includes a low-power step counter and step detector that is specifically optimized for hearables. In combination with the sophisticated activity recognition feature that detects walking, running and standing still, the hearable variant is a perfect fit for sports and activity-tracking hearables that operate with smartphones or stand-alone.

Manufacturers can flexibly configure the default parameter sets of these features to improve the performance of their devices. The sensor’s low noise of 120 µg√Hz, low offset of ±20 mg and low TCO of 0.35 mg/K further improve the accuracy of the device. Users thereby benefit from an intuitive user experience, accurate activity tracking and an extended battery life.